US Coal Consumption Drops to Lowest Level Since 1979

Contrary to popular belief, the United States is using less coal than ever before and in 2018, coal usage reached its lowest level in almost 40 year. After reaching its peak in 2007, coal usage has been in sharp decline as safer and more efficient energy sources take on more substantial roles on the American electrical grid. According to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal usage fell by 4% in 2018, which is the lowest it has been since Jimmy Carter’s presidency in 1979. Natural gas, an energy source that releases 50% to 60% less carbon dioxide emissions than coal, surpassed coal as the leading source of U.S. electricity generation in 2016. The increased use of natural gas, along with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, have led economists and analysts alike to predict a significant decrease in coal usage by 2050. Tougher pollutant restrictions are partially responsible for coal’s decline, but the main reason for coal’s decline may have more to do with economics than with regulation. The report states that “coal demand in the power sector is sensitive to changes in the price of natural gas,” meaning that whenever natural gas […]

Grant Brown is a passionate environmentalist, driven by a need to “leave it better than he found it”. This drive, combined with a capacity to understand power solutions of all types, helps him in his day job as VP Marketing at a start up clean technology company. His goal personally as well as professionally, is to help and inspire others to become a part of the green shift and to leave a positive legacy in the world.